Blue Capital Inc. Buys Shares of 5,172 Parker-Hannifin Co. (NYSE:PH)

Blue Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Parker-Hannifin Co. (NYSE:PH - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,172 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $3,290,000. Parker-Hannifin makes up about 2.3% of Blue Capital Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Parker-Hannifin by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,854,774 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $6,903,962,000 after acquiring an additional 111,406 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Parker-Hannifin by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,677,092 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,699,580,000 after purchasing an additional 99,261 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Parker-Hannifin by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,502,728 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,591,810,000 after purchasing an additional 198,292 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Parker-Hannifin in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,106,132,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Parker-Hannifin by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,600,842 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,018,185,000 after buying an additional 237,634 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.44% of the company's stock.

Parker-Hannifin Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of PH stock traded up $6.10 on Friday, hitting $647.60. The stock had a trading volume of 1,298,766 shares, compared to its average volume of 720,263. The stock's 50 day moving average is $598.40 and its 200-day moving average is $645.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.36. Parker-Hannifin Co. has a 52-week low of $488.45 and a 52-week high of $718.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Parker-Hannifin (NYSE:PH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $6.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.72 by $0.22. Parker-Hannifin had a net margin of 15.87% and a return on equity of 27.34%. The company had revenue of $4.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.51 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Parker-Hannifin Co. will post 26.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Parker-Hannifin Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a $1.80 dividend. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. This is a positive change from Parker-Hannifin's previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Parker-Hannifin's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Parker-Hannifin from $690.00 to $735.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Parker-Hannifin from $777.00 to $824.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Parker-Hannifin from $710.00 to $775.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wolfe Research downgraded Parker-Hannifin from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Parker-Hannifin from $564.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $710.12.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Jay Reidy sold 150 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $620.37, for a total value of $93,055.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,083 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,292,230.71. The trade was a 6.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.

Parker-Hannifin Profile

Parker-Hannifin Corporation manufactures and sells motion and control technologies and systems for various mobile, industrial, and aerospace markets worldwide. The company operates through two segments: Diversified Industrial and Aerospace Systems. The Diversified Industrial segment offers sealing, shielding, thermal products and systems, adhesives, coatings, and noise vibration and harshness solutions; filters, systems, and diagnostics solutions to ensure purity and remove contaminants from fuel, air, oil, water, and other liquids and gases; connectors used in fluid and gas handling; and hydraulic, pneumatic, and electromechanical components and systems for builders and users of mobile and industrial machinery and equipment.